The Elder Justice Act of 2009 (S. 795) was introduced in the Senate several years ago by Orrin Hatch (R-UT), but the bill never passed until recently when it passed with the Health Care Reform Bill. The purpose of the act is to amend the Social Security Act to “prevent, detect, treat, intervene in, and prosecute” elder abuse and neglect. You can read the text of the Elder Justice Act at http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=s111-795.
The Elder Justice Act will coordinate at the federal level all efforts to stop elder abuse. Previously these efforts were at the state and local level. The Office of Elder Justice will be created at the Dept. of Health and Human Services and Justice in order to coordinate public and private and federal, state and local efforts relating to elder justice.
Now, there will be federal funding available for Adult Protective Services (which would add an additional 1,700 case workers), and for research grants to study elder abuse and find solutions for its prevention. The bill provides $700 million can be spent on combating elder abuse. By passing this bill, elder abuse is at the forefront of issues that must be addressed at the national level.
-A national data repository will be established so that information about elder abuse can be kept in one place so that it is easy to collect and access.
-By providing grants and funding for research, this bill will increase the research which is conducted on this topic.
-Also, funding will be provided for creating an improved forensic expertise in the area of detecting and proving elder abuse.
-Elder abuse victims will have somewhere to go with the creation of “safe havens,” which will provide shelter for seniors who are not safe at the place they live.
-More funding will be available for law enforcement to help in the prosecution of elder abuse cases.
-Funding will be available for training so that abuse can be prevented before it occurs.
-More funding will be available for criminal background checks of potential nursing home employees, for training of employees, for improving the general overall staffing at nursing homes.
Whether you agree with the Health Care Reform Bill or not, the Elder Justice Act is very important to help prevent and reduce the incidence of elder abuse. Its passage is a major step in protecting our elderly in nursing homes. We should all pay attention to how Congress is spending the $700 million designated for this issue.
The Elder Justice Coalition. The Elder Justice Act-S. 795. http://www.elderjusticecoalition.com/legislation.htm
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